


heat of his breath in my mouth, im alive

by thegoatz



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, also. Yes i did change the pronoun in the title... i needed to make it Gay, falling in love via laughing, the pining is on the down low but its there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 23:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21107657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegoatz/pseuds/thegoatz
Summary: "I've been wanting to do that for a while," Mike laughs.And this time it's genuine.





	heat of his breath in my mouth, im alive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedLlamas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLlamas/gifts).

> guys i wrote this bc its my bro sisul's birthday so happy bday my dude.

Mike doesn't like it when people really, _really_, know him. He doesn't like showing that side of him, never has, never will. He just doesn't know how to properly open up without messing up somehow: too many attempts of trying to be genuine taken the wrong way had soured him to the point where he just didn't bother. It became a facade: just a mask that he put up to hide himself from everyone, and Mike doesn't know where, but somewhere along the way, he lost himself to that mask.

He was too intent on winning titles that he thought would solidify his status, that would make him feel better about himself, and when he found out that it wouldn't help him in the way he wanted it to, in the way that he _needed_ it to, he became bitter.

So _very_ bitter.

Daniel, however, was sweet, sickeningly so, and Mike didn't like it, not one tiny, _little_, bit. They didn't get along very well, but Mike didn't care, he was rather glad actually, hating someone was so much easier than liking them, than letting them get to know you. But whilst Mike acts like he hates Daniel Bryan's very existence, whilst he lets himself believe it, deep, _deep_, down he doesn't, and both of them know it.

It all first happened when Mike was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was backstage preparing for a match that he needed to win, not for everyone else, but for himself, it was a title match, for a belt he has had his eyes on for as long as he can remember. He's alone, secluded away so he can prepare and he knows that he can't mess it up, he won't forgive himself if he does. Mike can't have any distractions, not a _single_ one. But he should have known that it wouldn't be that easy.

He hears something. It's the sound of laughter, loud and genuine. It drifts down the corridor and as soon as he hears it, he knows who's it is. He knew the sound of Daniel's laughter like it was the back of his hand, and it's safe to say that he couldn't stop thinking about it, not even when he and his opponent stood in the ring, face to face. He had worked so hard to get there, to get an opportunity that he desperately needed.

So when, no matter how hard he tries to forget the sound of Daniel's laughter, so authentic, so full of pure joy and effervescence, he still can't concentrate. And he still can't get that damn sound out of his head even when he's on his back, the three count ringing in his ears. He had tried so hard to win the belt, he had spent so long, bled countless drops of blood, all for it to be stopped by Daniel.

To say that he was angry was an understatement: he was irate, infuriated, seething, and he hates, no, he _detests_ Daniel Bryan for preventing him the very thing he's always wanted. So when he's backstage, the throbbing pain of the match only in the background of his mind, he searches for Daniel. Mike wants nothing more than to wipe the smug smile that Mike just knows he'll have off of Daniel's face.

Mike hears his name being shouted at him from behind, and his heart jumps slightly when he realises that it's Daniel's voice. Mike mentally braces himself, preparing for the smirk on Daniel's face. Mike has every intention of taking all his frustrations out on Daniel, all Daniel has been ever since Mike met him was a nuisance: an irritating little itch on the back of his neck that he just can't scratch.

The fury of losing is burning through his veins, and he opens his mouth to snarl back at Daniel, whipping around, but snaps his mouth shut when he sees him. Daniel looks genuinely distraught for some reason, and all the anger is seeping out of him, being replaced by concern that Mike is hesitant to act on.

"I'm sorry about your loss, Mike, I know getting the title meant a lot to you."

Mike doesn't respond: he doesn't know how to. Alarm bells are ringing off in the back of his mind, and the instinct to put on his mask is back. But the tiredness is setting in, injuries that he didn't even know he had are making themselves known, the realisation that he lost is just setting in hitting him like a truck, and the way his stomach drops hits him just as hard.

He can't keep the mask up, so perhaps for the first time in, what seems like, forever, he lets himself be genuine. He says nothing but a solemn, "thanks", his shoulders dropping and his head lowering. A light hand on his arm makes him look up, and the sad smile, that Mike knows isn't fake, on Daniel's face comforts him slightly.

"I mean it, Mike, I was rooting for you."

Mike lets out a small laugh, one that hides his insecurities and doubts, Mike thanks him again, and knows that the interaction that he's having with Daniel shouldn't be happening. They didn't get along, so why was Daniel comforting him? Why was that hand on his arm more calming than anything else? Mike didn't know, _hell_, he doesn't even know if he wants to know.

So Mike does what he does best, and he deflects, he makes a joke, one that he doesn't even realise that he's saying until it's said. Daniel laughs.

The noise makes Mike's heart race: makes it thump so loudly in his chest that he silently begs it to be quiet as if Daniel might be able to hear it. It is, by no means, a loud laugh, not like the one he heard before his match, no, this one is quiet, it's a kind laugh, and it helps Mike forget the match that he lost. He quickly remembers that it's Daniel's laugh that cost him the match in the first place but now, hearing it up close, seeing the way that his eyes crinkle in the corners and how his cheeks go rosy, and how his smile is just so, _damn_, genuine, Mike can't find it in him to be angry.

Mike realises that he wants to hear that laugh more often. He wants to see the way that Daniel's face lights up. He wants to see how Daniel's eyes gleam and shimmer. Mike realises that he doesn't want to hate Daniel anymore, he doesn't even know if he wanted to in the first place, but he knows now.

He thanks him again, this time so sincerely that he can see that Daniel is slightly taken aback, although he hides it well, Daniel's fingers move on his arm, and they both realise that it never left. Daniel removes it quickly, and Mike swears he can faintly see red on Daniel's cheeks; he can feel it too on his own. Daniel changes the subject, and Mike is secretly glad, and he finds himself listening more intently to Daniel's words than he has to any other person in a while.

After a while of conversing, Mike mumbles quietly, but loud enough so that Daniel knows that Mike is talking to him, "this is weird," and Daniel gives him a quizzical look, "I meant just us, talking like old friends, I mean, a few weeks ago we were hating each other's guts."

Daniel frowns slightly, his brows furrowed in thought, and Mike finds himself unable to look away.

"I never really hated you, you just annoyed me sometimes, " Daniel says eventually with a little laugh, and Mike chuckles with him.

"You never hated me?" Mike responds, sounding genuine, and Daniel just shakes his head.

"Not really, I knew you meant well, just at the time we had different ways of doing things. We were both just so intent on believing that we were right, and the other was wrong."

Mike ponders on that, mulls over Daniel's words, he wonders what they could have been if they both weren't so conceited.

"I never did apologise for that, did I?"

"For what?"

"For being an asshole to you."

Daniel smiles at him as a way of saying thank you, and Mike doesn't know why, but he almost forgets how to breathe.

"I was just as bad," Daniel tells him, his voice warm, and Mike gives Daniel his own genuine smile, punching Mike's arm lightly.

"Did we just become friends?" Mike jokes, and Daniel lets out another low chuckle.

"I know, it's weird, right?"

Somehow, in a way that Mike never thought it would, talking to Daniel really did make him feel better, and soon, the loss of his match was a long-forgotten thought. He was still in his ring gear and needed a shower, but Mike realised that he didn't want to stop hearing Daniel's voice. They did eventually go their separate ways, and the silence that Mike found himself in was deafening.

He didn't stop thinking about him for hours, remembering every little detail that he could. Mike remembers back to all the hours that he's spent thinking about Daniel, all those hours convincing himself that Daniel was his rival, that he was his enemy when in reality, Daniel was just like him. How could he be so foolish? Mike makes a promise to himself: he promises that he's going to be a better person towards Daniel, and he tells himself it's because Daniel deserves someone who is kind to him, but in reality, it's almost entirely self-indulgent, because Mike just doesn't know how he's going to survive without seeing Daniel's smile.

So when he wakes up the next morning, the loss still looming over his head, he thinks about Daniel, about his smile, his laugh, about the feeling of Daniel's arm placed comfortingly on his own. He is still bitter about losing, but Daniel makes it sweeter, makes it less painful, and yet, Mike still feels an ache. He is bereft, and he doesn't know why. Well, he does know why, but he doesn't want to admit it.

He doesn't want to admit, that after only a few hours of talking, and after _years_ of hating, Mike thinks that maybe, _just maybe_, he might have caught feelings for Daniel. It's dumb and asinine, and it never should have happened, Mike should have stopped it: he should have squashed those feelings down before they got as strong as they did. The feelings that he had should never have been able to grow as strong as they did, in the short time that they did, it just never should have happened.

He tried long and hard to find out exactly how it did happen, but after hours of thinking about it, after hours of thinking about him, Mike hadn't made any progress, and it was aggravating. He hated how Daniel made him feel comfortable enough to be genuine with him, he wasn't genuine with anyone, so why was Daniel the exception, why was Daniel Bryan, the man that the thought he hated for several long years, the only person who makes him want to be his true self?

It didn't make any sense.

He hated Daniel, he really, _really_, did, and Mike repeats it in his mind over and over again as if trying to make himself believe it.

He didn't.

Being alone allows him to think, and Mike doesn't know whether that's a good thing. He thinks back to those years ago, where all he wanted was to make Daniel pay, pay for what, Mike didn't know. He was foolish in his youth. Hell, he's still foolish now, but considerably less so.

He wonders just how easily he caught feelings for Daniel, but then it hits him, so much later than it should have that it makes Mike feel embarrassed. The reason that he caught feelings for Daniel so easily was because they were always there, just slightly misguided. He was so adamant on believing that he hated Daniel when in reality, he just didn't want to admit his feelings.

He still doesn't want to admit them now. Even in the company of only himself, he still feels a blush rise to his cheeks, he still feels embarrassed and Mike decided very quickly that he doesn't like feeling like that at all. His heart aches, he can feel it inside every crevice of his body, he yearns for Daniel.

He doesn't want to say, but he yearns for Daniel harder than he ever did for the title.

When they meet next, Daniel can tell that Mike is different. It sets off alarms in the back of his mind, he's concerned and it shows: Daniel always was bad at hiding his emotions. Mike looks tired, his eyes don't shine in the way that they used to, his voice doesn't hold that lilt to it that Daniel could listen to for hours, everything about him just seems so abnormal. He looks empty, like the very heart and soul of him has been ripped out, and Daniel wants to know why.

He doesn't want to push their sudden friendship over the edge, so he asks what's wrong, and when Mike inevitably deflects, Daniel doesn't delve on it. He makes sure to keep his eye on Mike. Even during their time as 'enemies' Daniel always made sure that Mike was ok. Sure they had different opinions on damn near everything, but Mike was a hard-worker and that was something that Daniel respected. He knows what it's like to miss out on an opportunity as big as the one Mike missed and Daniel wanted him to know that he was there for him. It hurt Daniel to see him like this, it made his heart feel heavy, weighing him down. He ached for Mike just as Mike ached for him, and Daniel knows he'll do whatever it takes to remove that ache.

Daniel looked at Mike, and Mike looked back.

What Daniel looked at him with wasn't pity, as some might think, it was genuine empathy. When they looked into each other's eyes, Mike saw nothing but reassurance, and he felt comforted. He felt genuine like his chest was opening up letting in the fresh air that he so desperately needed, he had his heart in his hands for the whole world to see. It felt foreign, strange, and Mike didn't know how to feel, but the warmth in Daniel's eyes, spread through him, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Mike smiled, he truly, _truly_ smiled.

They talk some more, and Mike tries his hardest to make Daniel laugh because no matter how many times he tries to deny it, he's fallen in love.

Daniel's laugh warmed him, it rung so pleasantly in his ears, and right there, in that moment, Mike doesn't know how he'll go a single day without hearing it. His eyes crinkle so beautifully, his head tilts back and his hair falls in place and Mike can't stop himself from staring. There are so many idiosyncrasies that Mike is just noticing and each and every one of them just makes him even more infatuated.

It takes them a while before anything actually happens, both of them too stubborn, too anxious, to admit their feelings to the other. It's several months later, and Mike has another title shot. Mike can't have any distractions, not a single one, he doesn't want it to end the same way as it did last time. But he should have known that it wouldn't be that easy.

Daniel comes to see him, and something in the back of Mike's mind tells him to push Daniel away, that it was Daniel himself who cost him the title in the first place, but the warmth that fills his heart as Daniel walks over is just too good to get rid of, so he doesn't. Daniel is positive and tells him that he believes in him and Mike swears that those words make him feel more ready than ever.

Daniel's hand is on his arm, and he can feel the warmth of Daniel's touch spreading through him, going straight to his heart, to his lungs, and all the way down to the tips of his toes. Mike's smile is so wide, and his heart thrums so pleasantly that Mike is content to stay like that forever. Mike knows he's going to have to leave for his match soon, but from the way that Daniel is looking at him, he doesn't want to go just yet.

"I'll be rooting for you," Daniel says softly, his eyes shining as he speaks and Mike has to remind himself just how to speak.

Mike thanks him, and turns to leave for his match, but Daniel's hand lightly tugs on his arm, turning Mike around before he goes.

"One more thing, before you go," Daniel says, and Mike tilts his head confusedly.

He doesn't have time to react before Daniel is pressing their lips together. Mike lets out a surprised noise, and Daniel moves to pull away, but Mike puts his hand on the back of Daniel's head, kissing back just as intently. Mike feels all the air leave his body, he feels the softness of Daniel's lips against his own, he feels his heart racing wildly in his chest. His other hand finds itself in the small of Daniel's back, clinging desperately to Daniel's shirt. His eyes must be closed because he can't, for the life of him, remember what Daniel looks like. It's pure bliss, and the feeling of Daniel's beard is a new one, but Mike soon realises that he likes it.

Soon it gets hard to breathe, so they pull away, and Mike looks at Daniel with shock, his heart still racing.

"Win your match for me?" Daniel asks, and Mike nods his head, not trusting himself to speak.

Daniel gives him one, last, kiss before he goes, reaching up onto the tips of his toes to press their lips delicately together, and Mike's brain shortcircuits, and when Daniel pulls away, when Mike finally remembers how to move, he motions that he has to go, a giant fumbling movement as his brain still hasn't caught up to what happened, and Daniel laughs quietly, giving his a smile that knocks all the breath out of Mike's lungs.

He said that he didn't need any more distractions, but Daniel just might be the exception to this.

Daniel's voice echoes through his mind during that match, the question makes him fight harder, makes him last longer, makes him want to win more than ever. So he does.

This time he's not the one on his back, this time the three count sounds and he is the victor. He holds the belt high above his head, and all he can think of is Daniel.

He hurries backstage, only looking for one person, and when Mike finally finds him, he swears that Daniel is happier than he is. Mike reaches him and this time, he's the one who acts first. He leans down and he's only just realised how much he missed the feel of Daniel's mouth on his own. He can feel Daniel's smile against his lips and Mike's is just as wide. The heat of Daniel's breath in his mouth makes him feel alive, and Mike never wants to be where Daniel isn't. The sweetness of Daniel makes Mike not want to be bitter anymore, and deep down, he isn't.

They pull away eventually, and Daniel gives him a sheepish smile, Mike's hand finds itself on Daniel's cheek, the other wrapped securely around his belt.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while," Mike laughs.

And this time it's genuine.


End file.
